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Shadows: The Dream Demons (2002)

‘Shadows: The Dream Demons’ is a short horror film based on the old adage; that ‘if you die in your dream then you will die in real life’.This film adds to that adage, in that ‘if you die whilst you are dreaming then you are trapped in that dream for eternity - and what if that dream is a nightmare…?’

The story follows a man who is not sure whether he is dreaming, or someone who is awake and being foretold that his wife will be killed.In his delusional state he is being terrorised by two killers who relish at causing him as much pain as possible, but still allowing him to escape until they can catch up with him again.

With each encounter the viciousness of their attack grows more intense.The man also encounters a strange photographer who takes his picture but the picture is not of the man, but a window into the man’s bedroom where he sees his wife being brutally murdered whilst he sleeps.In this vision the man does not awake to save her.

The man realises that he must try to wake up before his wife is killed.However, in his netherworld, he soon realises that he too is also nearing his death.

Scripted by Robert A. Welsh, this short film sustains a feeling of dread and empathy for the man, who we can all identify with through our own nightmares.

Shot entirely at night in and around Edinburgh (and its graveyards), it has a Mise-en-scène visual style, which can sometimes make this an unsettling experience for some viewers.